WEST LEBANON, N.H. -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is pointing the country's $16 trillion debt and the millions of people who rely on food stamps as proof that Americans aren't better off than they were four years ago.

Stopping at a pizza shop Wednesday in West Lebanon, N.H., Romney said "the American people are not doing better."

He says President Barack Obama understands that but doesn't want to talk about it.

The tab on the nation's debt hit $16 trillion on Tuesday. Romney also said 47 million people now use food stamps, up from 32 million when Obama took office in 2009.

Romney has been sequestered at an adviser's home in nearby Vermont preparing for fall debates against Obama.

Obama arrived in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday for the Democratic National Convention.